Residents and fertilizer depot lived in harmony pre-blast

Apr. 20, 2013
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Searchers in protective suits walk through the blast zone of the fertilizer plant that exploded. For five decades, the facility and the residents lived in cautious harmony -- until Wednesday, when the blast killed at least 14 people, injured more than 150 and destroyed dozens of homes. / Ron Jenkins AP

by Rick Jervis and Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY

by Rick Jervis and Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY

WEST, Tex. - When school officials spotted a fire at the West Fertilizer Co. earlier this year, they immediately evacuated all 200 fourth and fifth graders from the nearby intermediate school.

The fire turned out to be a harmless controlled burn. But the exercise underscored just how conscious school officials and residents were of the fertilizer depot - and the risks of storing tons of ammonium nitrate there.

"Of course there were concerns," said Jan Hungate, assistant superintendent of the West Independent School District. "But what are we going to tell them? 'Please move the plant?' We can't do that. â?¦ When you're in a town this small there's only so many available places."

For five decades, the facility and the residents lived in symbiotic, if cautious, harmony. Locals worked at the depot and played football in its adjoining fields. Farmers used grain and fertilizer from the facility to revitalize fields and feed their cattle.

That changed in an instant Wednesday night, when a fire at the depot ignited into a massive fireball, killing at least 14 people, injuring more than 150 and destroying dozens of homes.

On Friday, authorities called off the search and rescue operation.

"It's amazing that nothing like this ever happened before," said resident Jim Kolacek, who lost a close friend in the blast. The facility had recently received a new load of fertilizer for spring planting, he said.

Still, he didn't blame the depot.

"That's just a way of life," he said. "It's a farming town. You just don't think about that."

The West Fertilizer Co. started in open fields near the train tracks on the east side of town in 1962, according to state records. Over the years, grain tanks, storage facilities and other buildings were added.

The town crept toward it. In 2001, the local high school was built a block-and-a-half away. The intermediate school, which serves fourth and fifth graders, opened within two blocks, along with an apartment complex, a nursing home and an Air Evac Lifeteam medical base - all within blocks of the facility. Also nearby, hundreds of brick ranch-style homes were built beginning in the 1970s, according to residents.

Locals describe the fertilizer depot as a small, family owned operation. Federal records show it was owned by Donald Adair, of West. Adair could not be reached for comment.

But, unbeknownst to many residents, the depot was acquiring fines from the Environmental Protection Agency, for failing to update a risk management plan and having poor employee-training records, according to the agency. The company later certified it had corrected the deficiencies, the EPA said.

Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are still investigating the cause of the fire and subsequent explosion. But ammonium nitrate - a white crystalline compound often used in fertilizers - is likely the culprit, said Bryan Haywood, who runs the Safety and Engineering Network and does safety consultations for chemical companies.

When ignited, ammonium nitrate burns very hot and can cause explosions, he said. The facility contained at least 540,000 pounds of the chemical -- or 100 times more than what was used in the Oklahoma City bombing, which killed 168 people, according to the Dallas Morning News.

Water â?? instead of dampening it â?? creates a chemical reaction with ammonium nitrate that releases oxygen, causing the fire to burn hotter, Haywood said. Authorities have not said what firefighters used to fight the initial blaze.

Once this process begins, "it's like a snowball going down a mountain, it just gets bigger and bigger," Haywood said. "Eventually it gets to the point of no return and you get a huge explosion."

Residents knew the risks of having so much ammonium nitrate stored in the nearby facility, especially if a fire took it. Jim Kolacek's wife, Christy Kolacek, was driving with a friend toward the fire Wednesday night. When she noticed it was the fertilizer facility on fire, she stomped on the brakes and turned around.

"I knew fire and fertilizer is a bad combination," she said. "I turned to the lady I was with and said 'We've got to get out of here.'"

For Chris Dulock, 33, the facility was more than just a local business: it was a rite of passage. He had worked there, loading and off loading bags of fertilizer, while a student in high school, and his father had worked there while he was in high school, too, he said. He and other students practiced football in the field next to the depot and many of his friends got jobs there.

One day while working at the facility, one of the older workers pulled him aside and offered a stark warning.